Merchants of Grain

Dan Morgan’s history of the five family trading houses — Cargill, Continental, Bunge, Dreyfus, André — that moved most of the world’s grain, including the 1972 Soviet purchase that caught Washington unaware.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the “explains an entire industry” thread. Still the standard account of the grain trade, and of how much of a global commodity market can sit inside a handful of private firms.

Where I saw it: In Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note, recovered from the reply thread to @WillManidis asking “what is the single best book you can read that will explain an entire industry?” (June 2, 2025). The full recovered list lives on what is the single best book… (tweet).

Kyle’s line read “The Grain Merchants”; the book is Dan Morgan’s Merchants of Grain.

Connections

• what is the single best book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• Grain · Agriculture — the commodity.
• Supply Chain — the trading houses are the chain.